Memory card

ABSTRACT

A memory card is to be inserted into an electronic device so as to add a memory function. The memory card comprises a parent card and a child card, the child card including a semiconductor memory element and a lead as an external terminal of the memory element. The parent card includes a child card receiving portion and a child card insert port for inserting the child card into the child card receiving portion through the child card insert port, and a contact to be contacted with the lead of the child card within the child card receiving portion. A contact opening/closing slide plate is provided for causing a contacting portion of the contact to be shifted to a position in which it can contact with the lead while moving in the child card insert direction pushed by the child card. The parent card also includes a connector element for contacting with the electronic device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a memory card to be used for an electronicdevice such as a computer, a word processor, etc.

2. Brief Description of the Prior Art

A memory card is insertable into a receiving port of a personal computeror a word processor for the purpose of adding a required memory functionto those electronic devices. To this end, the memory card hasspecifications prepared in accordance with a standard enabling thememory card to be received in those electronic devices. Memory cards ofthis type are of a single function and the function which can be addedby a single card is limited. For this reason, users must prepare aplurality of memory cards.

Recently, in order to obviate the above inconveniences, there is anattempt to make a so-called card-in-card in which a child card having amemory element can be removably inserted into a parent card which isformed in accordance with a standard. However, realization is stillawaited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a memorycard of a so-called card-in-card type capable of extensively increasingthe function of an electronic device to which the memory card isapplied.

To achieve the above object, there is essentially provided a memory cardto be inserted into an electronic device so as to add a memory function,the memory card comprising a parent card and a child card, the childcard including a semiconductor memory element and a lead as an externalterminal of the memory element. The parent card includes a child cardreceiving portion and a child card insert port for inserting the childcard into the child card receiving portion through the child card insertport, a contact to be contacted with the lead of the child card withinthe child card receiving portion, and a contact opening/closing slideplate for causing a contacting portion of the contact to be shifted to aposition able to contact with the lead while moving in the child cardinsert direction pushed by the child card, and a connector element forcontact with the electronic device.

The contact opening/closing slide plate can serve as a card tray forreceiving the child card.

The contact opening/closing slide plate may have a contact guide groovefor guiding the contacting portion of the contact when the slide platemoves, and a contacting hole formed in an inner bottom surface of thecontact guide groove and adapted to allow insertion and withdrawal ofthe contacting portion so as to be brought into and out of contact withthe lead while the contact opening/closing slide plate is moving.

The parent card may include ejection means for causing a rear end of thechild card to be projected outwardly from the child card insert port bymoving the contact opening/closing slide plate in a direction oppositeto the child card insert direction.

The novel features which are considered characteristic of this inventionare set out in the appended claims. The invention itself, however,together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be bestunderstood from the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example only,a preferred embodiment of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1(A) is a plan view of a parent card and a child card, and FIG.1(B) is a sectional view showing a child card on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the parent card with the child cardinserted in the parent card;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an upper surface of a contactopening/closing slide plate;

FIG. 4(A) is a perspective view of a lower surface of the slide plate,and FIG. 4(B) is a sectional view showing a part of the slide plate onan enlarged scale;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a lower surface of an assembly of theslide plate and an eject means;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an upper surface of the assembly;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a contact holder;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a relation between the slide plateand contacts;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a memory card having the parent card withthe child card inserted in the parent card, at an early stage ofinsertion of the child card;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the memory card, showing a state in whichinsertion of the child card into the parent card is finished;

FIGS. 11(A), 11(B) and 11(C) are sectional views showing initialoperating states of the contacts for grounding, for a power source andfor a signal, and the slide plate;

FIGS. 12(A), 12(B) and 12(C) are sectional views showing operatingstates progressed from FIG. 11;

FIGS. 13(A), 13(B) and 13(C) are sectional views showing operatingstates progressed from FIG. 12;

FIGS. 14(A), 14(B) and 14(C) are sectional views showing statesprogressed from FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

One preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a memorycard to be inserted in an electronic device 4 such as a personalcomputer, a word processor or the like, in order to add a predeterminedmemory function to the electronic device or change the memory function.This memory card 1 comprises a parent card 2 removably insertable into areceiving port 5 of the electronic device 4, and an exchangeable childcard 3 removably insertable into the parent card 2.

As shown in FIG. 1(B), the child card 3 comprises an IC card 8 having anIC chip 6 as a memory element and leads 7 as external terminals thereof,and a base plate 9 to which the IC card 8 is intimately attached. The ICchip 6 and the leads 7 are intimately attached to the upper surface ofthe IC card 8.

The base plate 9 is an IC chip carrier having an external shape suitableto be inserted into the insert port of the parent card 2. The IC chip 6is selectively adhered to the base plate 9 by the IC card 8.

A recess 10 is formed in the upper surface of the base plate 9 and theIC card 8 is adhered to an inner bottom surface of the recess 10 so thatthe IC card 8 does not project from the upper surface of the base plate9. The foregoing arrangement provides a multiple card construction.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, as well as elsewhere, theparent card 2 has a child card receiving portion 11 for receiving thechild card 3. The upper and lower surface plates of the parent card 2are made of a metal plate, thereby defining shield plates 2a and 2b. Theparent card 2 has a child card insert port 12 formed in one end thereof.The child card 3 is removably inserted into the child card receivingportion 11 through the child card insert port 12.

The child card 3 is inserted into the receiving portion 11 formed in theparent card 2 through the child card insert port 12 and brought intoelectrical contact with contacts 13 disposed in the receiving portion11. As shown in FIG. 7, the contacts 13 are arranged in array on andheld by a flat holder 14. The holder 14 is attached to the upper surfaceof a wiring board 28 so that the contacts 13 can be connected to awiring pattern on the wiring board 28. By disposing the contacts 13 inthe child card receiving portion 11 of the parent card 2, the contacts13 can be contained in the parent card 2.

By this, the contacts 13 are arranged in array in a directionperpendicular to the insert direction of the child card 3.

As typically shown in FIG. 11, the contacts 13 comprise groundingcontacts 13a, power source contacts 13b, and signal contacts 13c. Thecontacts 13a, 13b and 13c are restricted by a contact opening/closingslide plate 15 contained in the child card receiving portion 11 of theparent card 2 and sequentially brought into and out of contact with theleads 7 of the child card 3 in predetermined order.

As typically shown in FIG. 9, the contact opening/closing slide plate 15is contained in the child card receiving portion 11 in the parent card 2such that the contact opening/closing slide plate 15 can reciprocallymove in the insert direction of the child card 3.

The contact opening/closing slide plate 15 is pushed by the child card 3inserted through the child card insert port 12 and caused to movereciprocally in the insert direction of the child card 3. As shown inFIGS. 3 to 5, the contact opening/closing slide plate 15 is providedwith a front abutment member 16 which is to be pushed by a front end ofthe child card 3, and a pair of side rulers 17 for restricting the sidesurfaces of the child card 3. When the child card 3 is inserted throughthe child card insert port 12, the left and right side edges of thechild card 3 are restricted by the side rulers 17 and the front end ofthe child card 3 is bought into abutment with the front abutment member16, thereby correctly positioning the child card 3. The front abutmentmember 16 is pushed by the front end of the child card 3 so that thecontact opening/closing slide plate 15 is caused to move in the insertdirection of the child card 3.

In the course of the movement of the contact opening/closing slide plate15, the contacts 13a, 13b and 13c are sequentially controlled so thatthey are brought into contact with corresponding leads 7 in apredetermined order.

The contact opening/closing slide plate 15 also serves as a card trayfor receiving the child card 3 while restricting the child card 3 withthe front abutment member 16 and the side rulers 17. The contactopening/closing slide plate 15 is also functions as a means forcontrolling the opening/closing operation of the contacts 13 insynchronism with insertion of the child card 3.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, as well as elsewhere, the contactopening/closing slide plate 15 is disposed opposite the contacts 13. Thecontact opening/closing slide plate 15 is also provided at an opposingsurface with contact guide grooves 18 for guiding contact portions ofthe contacts 13. The contact guide grooves 18 are formed in the uppersurface of the contact opening/closing slide plate 15, elongated in theinsert direction of the child card 3 and arranged in parallel relationat pitches equal to pitches of the contacts. With the contact portionsof the contacts 13 resiliently contacted with the inner bottom surfacesof the guide grooves 18, the contact opening/closing slide plate 15 ismoved together with the child card 3.

As, shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, each contact guide groove 18 is provided atthe inner bottom surface thereof with a contact hole 19 through which acorresponding contact 13 appears and disappears during the process ofmovement of the contact opening/closing slide plate 15.

The contact hole 19 is opened at the inner bottom surface of the contactguide groove 18 and also opened at the lower surface, this lower surfacebeing disposed opposite the upper surface in which the guide grooves 18are formed, of the contact opening/closing slide plate 15. As typicallyshown in FIG. 10, the contacts 13 are brought into pressure-contact withcorresponding leads 7 of the child card 3 through the contact holes 19.

That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the contact portions of the contacts 13 arereceived in the contact guide grooves 18 and resiliently contacted withthe bottom surfaces of the grooves 18. In that state, when the contactopening/closing slide plate 15 is moved, the contact portions of thecontacts 13 are guided by the guide grooves 18. When the contactopening/closing slide plate 15 reaches a predetermined moving position,the contact portions of the contacts 13 are faced with correspondingcontact holes 19 and resiliently brought into the contact holes 19 so asto be exposed from the opposite side with respect to the side where theguide grooves 18 are formed and contacted with corresponding leads 7 ofthe child card 3 under pressure.

As shown in FIGS. 11 to 14, owing to a provision of the contact holes 9,the contacts 13a, 13b, and 13c are sequentially brought into contactwith corresponding leads 7 in predetermined order.

Insertion of the child card 3 into the parent card 2 can provide acard-in-card state. The memory card 1 thus constructed is inserted intothe receiving port 5 of the electronic device 4 and brought into contactwith the electronic device 4 by a connector element 20 disposed on afront end of the parent card 2. The memory function provided to thechild card 3 is provided to the electronic device 4 by the parent card 2through the leads 7 and contacts 13. The connector element 20 isconnected to the contacts 13 through the wiring pattern 29 on the wiringboard 28.

The parent card 2 contains a means for ejecting the child card 3. Thiseject means causes the contact opening/closing slide plate 15 to move inthe direction opposite to the insertion direction of the child card 3 sothat a rear end of the child card 3 projects outwardly from the childcard insert port 12 for the purpose of easy removal.

For example, FIGS. 5 and 6 show a concrete example of the eject means.As illustrated, the contact opening/closing slide plate 15 issuperimposed on the inner surface of a cover 27 integral with the parentcard 2, and the front abutment member 16 and side rulers 17 of the slideplate 15 are brought into abutment with the inner surface of the cover27. By doing this, a child card receiving space 11' is formed betweenthe slide plate 15 and the cover 27. One end of the child card receivingspace 11' is opened to define the afore-mentioned child card insert port12. Guide pieces 21 disposed on the cover 27 are brought into engagementwith left and right edge portions of the slide plate 15. As aconsequence, the slide plate 15 is held by the cover 27. The slide plate15 is reciprocally slid while guided by the guide pieces 21 and theinner surface of the cover 27.

On the other hand, an eject lever 22 is disposed adjacent to one side ofthe slide plate 15. The eject lever 22 and the slide plate 15 areconnected by a link 23 so that the eject lever 22 can slide in theinsert direction of the child card 3. The arrangement being such thatwhen the eject lever 22 is pushed, the slide plate 15 is moved throughthe link 23.

For example, one end of the link 23 is pivotally connected to the ejectlever 22 and the other end is pivotally connected to the slide plate 15.An intermediate portion of the link 23 is pivotally supported on thatsurface (lower surface) of the parent card 2 where the cover 27 is notdisposed (i.e., the cover 27 is disposed on the upper surface). As aconsequence, a pushing force of the eject lever 22 is transmitted to thelink 23 through a pivot point 24 and the link 23 is pivoted about apivotal point 25. This pivotally moving force is applied to a pivotalpoint 26, so that the slide plate 15 is moved. Movement of the slideplate 15 in the direction opposite to the insertion direction of thechild card 3 causes the front abutment member 16 to push the child card3. As a consequence, the rear end of the child card 3 projects outwardlyfrom the insert port 12.

In contrast, when the child card 3 is inserted, the slide plate 15 ismoved in the insertion direction of the child card 3. This moving forceis applied to the eject lever 22 through the link 23, to thereby to pushthe eject lever 22 into a position where the lever 22 is located beforebeing pushed. In that position, the eject lever 22 waits for the nextejecting operation.

In the manner as mentioned above, the child card 3 can be exchanged.

As described above, the contact opening/closing slide plate 15 co-actswith the child card 3, and further co-acts with the contacts 13, so thatthe grounding contacts 13a, power source contacts 13b and signalcontacts 13c are sequentially operated. This procedure will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 11 to 14.

As mentioned above, the contact opening/closing slide plate 15, whichalso serves as the card tray, is moved in the insertion direction of thechild card 3 together with the child card 3 when the child card 3 pushesthe front abutment member 16. During the initial process of insertingthe child card 3, as shown in FIGS. 11(A), 11(B) and 11(C), any of thecontact portions of the grounding contacts 13a, power source contacts13b and signal contacts 13c are resiliently contacted with the bottomsurfaces of the guide grooves 18 and are not in contact with the leads7.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 12(A), 12(B) and 12(C), when the contactopening/closing slide plate 15 is further moved with the progress ofinsertion of the child card 3, first, as shown in FIG. 12(A), thecontact holes 19 are aligned with the contact portions of the groundingcontacts 13a. The grounding contacts 13a are brought into the contactholes 19 by their own restoring force, while sliding along the guidegrooves 18. As a consequence, the contact portions of the groundingcontacts 13a start contacting with the corresponding leads 7 underpressure.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 12(B) and 12(C), the power sourcecontacts 13b and the signal contacts 13c are resiliently contacted withthe inner bottom surfaces of the guide grooves 18 in the neighborhood ofseparate contact holes 19 and are in a non-contact state.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 13(A), 13(B) and 13(C), when the slide plate 15is further moved with the progress of insertion of the child card 3, asshown in FIG. 13(B), the contact portions of the power source contacts13b are aligned with the contact holes 19 and the contact portions areresiliently brought into the contact holes 19 so as to be contacted withthe power source leads 7 under pressure.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13(A), the grounding contacts 13aare slid on the surfaces of the corresponding leads 7 while maintainingtheir electrical contact with the grounding leads 7. As shown in FIG.13(C), the signal contacts 13c are resiliently contacted with the innerbottom surfaces of the guide grooves 18 and are in a non-contact state.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 14(A), 14(B) and 14(C), when the slide plate 15is further moved with the progress of insertion of the child card 3, asshown in FIG. 14(C), the contact portions of the signal contacts 13c arealigned with the contact holes 19 and the contact portions areresiliently brought into the contact holes 19 so as to be contacted withthe signal leads 7 under pressure.

On the other hand, the grounding contacts 13a and power source contacts13b are slid on the surfaces of the leads 7 while maintaining theirelectrical contact with the leads 7.

The signal contacts 13c are also slid on the surfaces of the leads 7 andprovide the state of FIG. 14(C). Frictional sliding movement of therespective contacts 13a, 13b and 13c along the surfaces of the leads 7provides a so-called wiping effect. As a consequence, a highly reliableelectrical contact can be obtained.

According to the present invention, a child card is removably inserted(such that, the child card is exchangeable) into a parent card, tothereby obtain an electrical connection therebetween. This arrangementof the present invention makes it possible to adequately realize theso-called card-in-card type memory card and enhances its practical use.Accordingly, simply by exchanging one child card with another child cardwhile having a single parent card, the intended purposes foradding/changing the function of an electronic device can effectively beachieved. Thus, the user's requirement of many ways of use of anelectronic device is appropriately fulfilled by the present invention.

Although the invention has been described in connection with a preferredembodiment thereof, it will be appreciated that many modifications andvariations will readily occur to those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A memory card to be inserted into an electronicdevice so as to add a memory function, said memory card comprising aparent card and child card, said child card including a semiconductormemory element and a lead as an external terminal of said memoryelement, said parent card including a child card receiving portion and achild card insert port for insertion of the child card into said childcard receiving portion, a contact to be contacted with the lead of saidchild card within said child card receiving portion, and a contactopening/closing slide plate for causing a contacting portion of saidcontact to be shifted to a position in which said contact is able tocontact with said lead while moving in the child card insert directionpushed by said child card, and a connector element to be subjected tocontact with said electronic device;wherein said contact opening/closingslide plate has a contact guide groove for guiding said contactingportion of said contact when said slide plate moves, and a contactinghole is formed in an inner bottom surface of said contact guide grooveand adapted to allow insertion and withdrawal of said contactingposition so as to be brought into and out of contact with said leadwhile said contact opening/closing slide plate is moving.
 2. A memorycard according to claim 1, wherein said contact opening/closing slideplate also serves as a card tray for receiving said child card.
 3. Amemory card according to claim 1, wherein said parent card includesejection means for causing a rear end of said child card to be projectedoutwardly from said child card insert port by moving said contactopening/closing slide plate in a direction opposite to said child cardinsert direction.